World Trigger Is the MOST Underrated Shonen Manga | CBR - CBR - Comic Book Resources

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World Trigger is a typical shonen series with its world-saving premise, battle-focused story arcs and a hardworking protagonist motivated by friendship. It is also one of the mellowest shonen series in circulation, with friendly characters and a battle system that will almost never lead to death. What makes the World Trigger manga great is its tactical team battles, realistic world-building, and grounded character developments. With Season 2 of the anime set to premiere on January 9^th, 2021, it is time for anyone fond of strategic battle stories to pay attention to this series.

Why World Trigger Isn't So Popular

One reason that World Trigger has flown under the radar for so many shonen fans is its two-year-long hiatus. The manga debuted in Weekly Shonen Jump in February 2013 and received an anime adaptation in October 2014. However, the creator Daisuke Ashihara suffers from a chronic spinal condition called cervical spondylosis, and the series went on indefinite hiatus in November 2016 due to his health issues. The anime adaptation also was forced to stop due to this issue. The series finally returned to Shonen Jump in October 2018 and moved to Jump Square in December of the same year.

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Hiatuses due to health issues are quite common within the manga industry, most notably with D.Gray-man’s creator Katsura Hoshino and Hunter x Hunter’s Yoshihiro Togashi,. World Trigger, however, was just hitting its stride before the hiatus and didn't return with the same anticipation as those series. Unfortunately, the series went on hiatus at the exact moment when it started getting great.

In addition to the manga's delays, the anime adaptation of World Trigger was also not as well-received as many other Shonen Jump anime adaptations. From an animation standpoint, the show was simply awful -- many action scenes were just still images and background characters were poorly drawn. The slow pacing and the initial lack of excitement further doomed the show, which received harsh reviews and failed to develop a huge audience.

What World Trigger Is About

The story of World Trigger is about an organization called “Border” that protects the earth against various alien invaders known as “neighbors”. Though the premise is simple enough, it is very carefully set up so the world feels real. The series a slow burn in the beginning, where each battle carefully introduces more information about the world, its unique weapon system and power scaling. The details in earlier chapters will pay off in later arcs.

The B Rank battle arc, which spans from Chapter 86 to Chapter 199, is a tournament arc where the series finally reaches its full portential. The protagonists’ team battles various other teams, and the last to survive will win points that can increase their ranking. The goal for the protagonists’ team is to reach the top of the B rank in order to be selected for an expedition into the alien world of the neighbors.

The battle teams consist of attackers, shooters/gunners and snipers. Unlike in a typical battle manga, where raw power, skills and willpower will usually determine the outcome of a battle, in World Trigger, tactical considerations such information gathering, geography, time of day and even weather conditions are crucial. Making the strategy more complicated is the fact there are three or even four teams battling at the same time. The high level of strategic thinking and teamwork required for each battle makes this one of the cleverest and most engaging team battle series ever.

Realism is the Key to World Trigger’s Greatness

World Trigger's characters are grounded and realistic. The protagonist Osamu Mikumo does not fit the typical “chosen one” archetype found in most battle shonen. After 200 chapters, Osamu is still one of the weakest characters in the series, which reflects the frustratingly realistic power-scaling in World Trigger. But his hardworking personality, along with his strategic thinking and leadership makes him a very dependable leader. His more exceptional teammates are the super agile and experienced attacker Yuma Kuga and the super-powerful but timid sniper Chika Amatori. Together, they make a formidable team.

While the story is battle focused and the characters constantly fighting one another, there is very little animosity between them. Rivalries are always friendly, and almost no one in the series is truly evil -- even the enemies have reasons to justify their invasion. The characters all have distinctive dialogue and fighting styles, though unfortunately, the character designs are often less distinctive.

The series also features a thinly veiled political commentary on immigration. Some members of Border are hostile toward neighbors and view them as enemies, while others believe there should be a more diplomatic approach to dealing with neighbors, even to cooperate with them. This difference of opinion often leads to political struggles within Border. Ashihara does a good job of explaining everyone’s reasoning adequately and doesn't present the issue as black and white as one might expect.

Although the mellow tone of World Trigger could make the pacing feel slow compared to other shonen series, the series is a must-read for those who enjoy intellectually engaged battles, realistic world-building or a generally chill vibe in their shonen.

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About The Author

Xianwei Wu (12 Articles Published)

A recent graduate from Journalism and mass communications from the University of Iowa, Xianwei has written academic papers on fandom and video streaming websites. But her true passion has always been anime and manga, something she has loved since first grade. She is also a massive fujoshi and is unashamed of her love for everything Boy's Love related.